Guest Review Policy

This Guest Review Policy governs the submission, display, moderation, removal, and use of all reviews and ratings posted on BookInstead.com. It applies to all Guests who submit reviews and all Operators who receive them. Reviews are a foundational trust signal for the BookInstead marketplace — this Policy exists to keep them honest, fair, and genuinely useful for future Guests.

1. Purpose and Philosophy

1.1 Why Reviews Matter

BookInstead is a marketplace where Guests cannot physically inspect an Experience before booking. Reviews are the closest thing to that inspection. A guest reading a review wants to know: did the Experience deliver what it promised, was the Operator professional, was it worth the money, and would a real person recommend it?

That trust is only valuable if it is real. A review system corrupted by fake positives, suppressed negatives, or weaponized complaints is worse than no review system at all. BookInstead’s review framework is built around one principle: every review on the Platform must reflect a genuine, firsthand experience by a verified Guest.

1.2 What This Policy Governs

This Guest Review Policy (“Review Policy”) governs:

Who is eligible to submit a review and under what conditions.
What a review may and may not contain.
How reviews are displayed, ranked, and weighted.
Under what circumstances a review may be removed, suppressed, or edited by BookInstead.
How Operators may respond to reviews and what those responses may contain.
How fake reviews, incentivized reviews, and review manipulation are detected and penalized.
How disputes over review content are handled.
How review data affects Operator listing visibility and Quality Score.

1.3 BookInstead’s Editorial Independence

BookInstead maintains full editorial independence over its review system. Operators cannot pay, request, or otherwise influence BookInstead to remove a legitimate negative review. The fact that a review damages an Operator’s business is not grounds for removal. The only legitimate grounds for removing a review are those expressly set forth in Section 7 of this Policy.

BookInstead similarly will not suppress a positive review simply because a competitor raises an objection. Reviews are the Guest’s voice. BookInstead’s role is to ensure they are genuine, not to curate them in any party’s favor.

2. Definitions

Term	Definition
Review	A written account submitted by an eligible Guest describing their firsthand experience with a booked Experience, including an overall star rating and optionally a written narrative.
Star Rating	A numerical rating on a scale of 1 to 5 stars assigned by the Guest to the overall Experience. 1 star indicates a very poor experience; 5 stars indicates an exceptional experience.
Verified Review	A review submitted by a Guest whose booking has been confirmed as completed in BookInstead’s system, verified against the Operator’s confirmation.
Unverified Review	A review submitted through a channel or mechanism that BookInstead cannot confirm maps to a completed, paid Booking. Unverified reviews are not published on the Platform.
Operator Response	A written reply submitted by an Operator through the Operator Dashboard in response to a published Guest review. Displayed publicly below the Guest’s review.
Review Flag	A report submitted by a Guest, Operator, or third party alleging that a published review violates this Review Policy. Triggers a moderation review by BookInstead’s Review Team.
Incentivized Review	A review that was solicited, influenced, or submitted in exchange for compensation, a discount, a free experience, an upgrade, or any other benefit offered by the Operator or a third party.
Retaliatory Review	A review submitted by a Guest for the primary purpose of punishing, threatening, or extracting concessions from an Operator, rather than providing a genuine account of the Experience.
Review Manipulation	Any coordinated, deceptive, or artificial effort to increase or decrease an Operator’s review count, average rating, or review content — including fake reviews, review brigading, or review gating.
Review Gating	The practice of selectively soliciting reviews only from Guests who express satisfaction in advance, filtering out potentially negative reviewers before they submit a review.
Review Brigading	The coordinated submission of multiple negative reviews targeting a specific Operator by individuals who did not book or participate in the Experience, intended to harm the Operator’s rating.
Overall Rating	The Operator’s aggregate average star rating, calculated from all Verified Reviews published on their Listing, displayed prominently on the Listing page and in search results.
Review Window	The period during which an eligible Guest may submit a review following an Experience. Reviews must be submitted within 60 calendar days of the confirmed Experience date.
Review Team	BookInstead’s internal moderation team responsible for reviewing flagged reviews, investigating policy violations, making removal and suppression decisions, and responding to review disputes.

3. Review Eligibility

3.1 Who May Submit a Review

Only individuals who meet all of the following criteria are eligible to submit a review on BookInstead.com:

The reviewer must have a registered, active BookInstead account in good standing.
The reviewer must have made a confirmed, paid Booking for the specific Experience being reviewed, through the BookInstead Platform.
The Booking must have been completed — meaning the Experience occurred on its scheduled date, or the Guest arrived at the Experience location, or the Operator formally confirmed that the Guest participated.
The review must be submitted within the Review Window: within sixty (60) calendar days of the confirmed Experience date.
The reviewer must not have previously submitted a review for the same Booking.
The reviewer’s account must not be under suspension or subject to a review submission restriction at the time of submission.

3.2 Who May Not Submit a Review

The following individuals are not eligible to submit a review, regardless of their association with the Experience:

Any individual who did not personally participate in the Experience.
Any individual who booked but did not attend and was marked as a no-show.
Any individual whose Booking was canceled — whether by the Guest or the Operator — before the Experience date.
Any individual who is an employee, contractor, owner, partner, or close family member of the Operator being reviewed.
Any individual who is an employee or contractor of BookInstead LLC.
Any individual whose account has been suspended or banned from submitting reviews due to a prior Review Policy violation.
Any individual whose review submission is linked to a compensated, incentivized, or otherwise non-arm’s-length relationship with the Operator.

3.3 One Review Per Booking

Each Booking generates a single review opportunity for the primary Guest account holder. A Guest who books multiple spots within a single Booking may submit one review for that Booking. Guests who complete multiple separate Bookings with the same Operator may submit one review per Booking, provided each review reflects the specific Experience from that Booking.

Group organizers who book on behalf of multiple participants may submit one review for the group. Individual participants who were added to a Booking by a group organizer may request a separate review link by contacting support@bookinstead.com within the Review Window.

3.4 Review Window

Reviews must be submitted within sixty (60) calendar days of the confirmed Experience date. This window is firm. Reviews submitted after the 60-day window will not be accepted, regardless of the reason for the delay. BookInstead does not grant Review Window extensions.

The 60-day window was chosen to balance timely, accurate recollection of the Experience against the Guest’s need for adequate time to compose a thoughtful review. Reviews submitted within the first 30 days of the window receive slightly higher algorithmic weighting, as they are statistically more likely to reflect accurate, uninfluenced recall.

4. Review Submission Standards

4.1 What a Good Review Includes

BookInstead encourages Guests to write detailed, specific, and balanced reviews. A high-quality review helps future Guests make informed decisions and helps Operators understand where they are excelling and where they can improve. Good reviews typically include:

A description of the specific Experience booked, including the date and general conditions.
What the Guest enjoyed most about the Experience.
Any aspects that fell short of expectations, described factually and specifically.
Comments on the Operator’s professionalism, communication, and staff performance.
Whether the Guest would recommend the Experience to others, and to what type of person.
Any notable differences between the Listing description and the actual Experience.

Reviews that are specific, balanced, and detailed are more helpful to future Guests and carry more algorithmic weight in search ranking than brief or vague reviews.

4.2 Required Elements

Every review submitted on BookInstead must include:

A star rating between 1 and 5 (whole stars only). A star rating is mandatory. A review cannot be submitted without a rating.
A written narrative of at least 25 words. Reviews shorter than 25 words will not be published and will be returned to the Guest with a prompt to add more detail.

Optional elements include photos taken during the Experience, a subject line or headline, and ratings for individual subcategories such as value, safety, and guide quality where those fields are made available.

4.3 Accuracy Standard

Every review must be an accurate, firsthand account of the Guest’s actual experience. Guests agree that:

All statements of fact in their review are true and accurate to the best of their knowledge.
They are describing their own personal experience, not speculating about experiences they did not have.
They are not exaggerating, fabricating, or embellishing any aspect of their account.
Where their review includes a comparison to other operators or platforms, that comparison is based on their own genuine experience with both.

BookInstead understands that perceptions of the same experience can vary. A Guest who genuinely found an Experience disappointing may say so, even if other Guests had positive experiences. What is not permitted is deliberate misrepresentation, fabrication, or strategic distortion of the facts.

4.4 Tone and Language Standards

Reviews must be written in a civil, constructive tone. Guests may be direct and critical, but criticism must be grounded in fact and directed at the Experience or Operator’s conduct — not at individuals personally. The following tone guidelines apply:

Critical reviews are permitted and protected under this Policy. Expressing genuine disappointment, frustration, or concern is acceptable.
Personal attacks on individual staff members, guides, or the Operator as a person are prohibited. Criticism of professional conduct is acceptable; personal insults are not.
Profanity, obscenities, and crude or vulgar language are prohibited.
Threatening or intimidating language directed at the Operator or any other party is prohibited.
Reviews written entirely in uppercase (“shouting”) that appear designed to attract disproportionate attention are subject to formatting normalization by BookInstead.

5. The BookInstead Rating System

5.1 Star Rating Scale

The BookInstead star rating scale is designed to give Guests a clear framework for evaluating their Experience. The following descriptions define the intended meaning of each rating:

Stars	Label	Intended Meaning
5 Stars	Exceptional	The Experience exceeded expectations in nearly every respect. Would enthusiastically recommend to others. Operator delivered outstanding quality and professionalism.
4 Stars	Very Good	The Experience was genuinely good and mostly delivered what was promised. Minor imperfections did not significantly detract from the overall value.
3 Stars	Acceptable	The Experience was adequate but unremarkable. There were meaningful gaps between expectations and delivery, though the core activity was completed.
2 Stars	Below Expectations	The Experience fell significantly short of what was advertised or promised. Several aspects were disappointing, poorly executed, or not delivered as described.
1 Star	Very Poor	The Experience was deeply unsatisfactory or the Operator failed to deliver the core activity. The Guest would not recommend this Experience to anyone.

5.2 Overall Rating Calculation

An Operator’s Overall Rating displayed on their Listing page is calculated as a weighted average of all Verified Reviews published for that Listing, subject to the following rules:

Only Verified Reviews contribute to the Overall Rating.
All reviews carry equal weight by default, regardless of the length or detail of the written narrative.
Reviews submitted within the first 30 days of the Review Window receive a recency premium of up to 5% in their weighting.
Reviews older than 24 months receive a gradual decay factor, as older reviews may not reflect the Operator’s current performance standards.
A Listing must have a minimum of three (3) Verified Reviews before an Overall Rating is displayed. Listings with fewer than three reviews display “Not Yet Rated” rather than a numerical score.
In the event of a confirmed Review Manipulation incident, affected reviews are removed from the calculation and the Overall Rating is recalculated. BookInstead may also adjust an Operator’s rating where manipulation has clearly skewed the authentic average.

5.3 Subcategory Ratings

In addition to the overall star rating, Guests may optionally rate individual subcategories of their Experience. These subcategory ratings are displayed separately on the Listing page and contribute to the Listing Quality Score but are not averaged into the Overall Rating. Current subcategories include:

Value for Money — Did the Experience deliver fair value relative to the price paid?
Guide or Host Quality — Was the guide, instructor, or host professional, knowledgeable, and engaging?
Safety Standards — Did the Operator appear to prioritize Guest safety throughout the Experience?
Accuracy to Listing — Did the Experience match what was described in the Listing?
Communication — How responsive and clear was the Operator before and during the Experience?

6. Prohibited Review Content

The following types of content are prohibited in any review submitted on BookInstead.com. Reviews containing prohibited content will be removed or edited by the Review Team in accordance with Section 7.

6.1 Defamatory and False Statements of Fact

A review may not contain false statements of fact presented as true. This includes:

Claims that the Operator committed a crime without a supporting police report, court record, or equivalent official documentation.
False claims that the Operator is unlicensed, uninsured, or operating illegally, where the Guest has no factual basis for the claim.
Fabricated accounts of events that did not occur during the Experience.
False attributions of statements or actions to the Operator or their staff that did not occur.

Opinion and subjective experience are fully protected under this Policy, even if strongly negative. The prohibition is on false statements of fact, not negative opinions.

6.2 Personal Information and Privacy Violations

Reviews may not contain:

The full legal name, home address, personal phone number, email address, or social media handle of any individual — including Operator staff — beyond their first name or known business name.
Any information about an individual’s health, medical history, immigration status, financial situation, sexual orientation, religion, or other sensitive personal characteristics.
Photos or videos in which other participants, staff members, or bystanders are identifiable and have not consented to inclusion.
Any information that the Guest learned through a confidential communication with the Operator.

6.3 Hate Speech and Discriminatory Content

Reviews may not contain content that:

Degrades, demeans, or discriminates against any individual or group based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or any other protected characteristic.
Uses slurs, derogatory terms, or hate symbols targeting any protected group.
Promotes, glorifies, or encourages violence or discrimination against any individual or group.

6.4 Threats and Harassment

Reviews may not contain:

Any direct or implied threat of physical violence, legal action, regulatory complaint, or online harassment directed at the Operator, their staff, or other participants.
Language designed to intimidate or coerce the Operator into providing a refund, discount, or other concession.
Content that appears designed to harm the Operator’s business through coordinated harassment rather than honest criticism.
Multiple reviews from the same account or coordinated accounts targeting the same Operator within a short period.

6.5 Irrelevant Content

Reviews must be relevant to the specific Experience booked. Reviews may not contain:

Complaints about the BookInstead Platform, the booking process, or payment issues that are not related to the Operator’s delivery of the Experience.
Comments about experiences the Guest had with a different operator or on a different booking platform.
Commentary about factors entirely outside the Operator’s control, such as traffic, weather (unless the Operator’s weather response was inadequate), or the Guest’s personal circumstances on the day of the Experience.
Promotional content for any business, product, or service, including the Guest’s own business.
Off-topic political, religious, or social commentary unrelated to the Experience.

6.6 Intellectual Property Violations

Reviews may not include:

Copyrighted content, including song lyrics, excerpts from published works, or trademarked slogans, that the Guest does not have the right to reproduce.
Photos or videos to which the Guest does not hold the copyright or have a valid license to publish.

6.7 Off-Platform Solicitation

Reviews may not contain:

References to, or links to, external booking platforms as alternatives to BookInstead.
Phone numbers, email addresses, website URLs, or social media handles for the purpose of directing future business off the Platform.
Any suggestion that Guests book directly with the Operator outside of BookInstead to avoid fees.

7. Review Moderation, Removal, and Suppression

7.1 Automatic Moderation

All reviews pass through BookInstead’s automated content moderation system before publication. The system scans for:

Profanity, obscenities, and hate speech using a continuously updated filter library.
Personal information such as phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses.
External URLs and off-platform contact information.
Duplicate or near-duplicate content suggesting coordinated submission.
Unusually short submissions that fall below the 25-word minimum.

Reviews that pass automatic moderation are published within one (1) business day of submission. Reviews flagged by the automated system are placed in a manual review queue and may take up to three (3) business days to publish or be returned to the Guest for revision.

7.2 Flagging a Review

Any registered user — including Guests and Operators — may flag a published review for Policy violations using the Flag button displayed next to each review. Flagging a review does not remove it from the Platform. It submits the review for evaluation by the Review Team.

When flagging a review, the reporting party must select a reason from the following list:

Contains false statements of fact.
Contains personal information or privacy violations.
Contains hate speech, discriminatory content, or threats.
The reviewer did not participate in the Experience.
Appears to be a fake, incentivized, or retaliatory review.
Contains off-platform solicitation or promotional content.
Other Policy violation (free-text explanation required).

Anonymous flags — flags submitted without a registered account — are not accepted. Operators who abuse the flagging system by repeatedly flagging legitimate negative reviews without valid grounds will have their flagging privileges suspended.

7.3 Review Team Evaluation

Upon receiving a flag, the Review Team will:

Acknowledge receipt of the flag within one (1) business day.
Review the flagged content against the specific Policy section cited by the reporting party.
If additional information is needed, request supporting documentation from the flagging party within two (2) business days.
Issue a moderation decision within five (5) business days of receiving all necessary information.
Notify both the flagging party and the review author of the decision.

During the Review Team’s evaluation, the review remains published unless the Review Team determines that immediate suppression is warranted due to the severity of the alleged violation (e.g., a review containing specific personal information or credible threats).

7.4 Grounds for Review Removal

A review will be permanently removed from the Platform only if the Review Team determines that it meets one or more of the following criteria:

Removal Ground	Standard Applied
Eligibility violation	The reviewer did not complete a verified Booking for the Experience, as confirmed by booking records.
False statement of fact	The review contains a specific false claim of fact — not an opinion — that can be disproved by objective evidence.
Privacy violation	The review contains personal identifying information about a named individual without their consent.
Hate speech or threats	The review contains content that a reasonable person would consider threatening, harassing, or discriminatory against a protected group.
Confirmed fake or incentivized review	Investigation reveals the review was submitted in exchange for compensation, by someone who did not participate, or as part of a coordinated manipulation scheme.
Confirmed retaliatory review	The review was submitted primarily to extract a financial concession from the Operator, and not to provide a genuine account of the Experience, as evidenced by communications between the Guest and Operator.
Off-platform solicitation	The review contains contact information, URLs, or explicit instructions to book outside BookInstead.
Intellectual property violation	The review reproduces copyrighted material without authorization.

The following are NOT grounds for removing a review: The Operator disagrees with the Guest’s opinion. The review is negative. The review portrays the Operator unfavorably. The Operator believes the Guest is wrong. The Operator offered a partial refund after the review was posted. The Operator is disputing the underlying booking in a separate channel.

7.5 Review Editing

In limited circumstances, the Review Team may edit a review rather than remove it entirely. Editing is applied only where:

A portion of an otherwise valid review contains prohibited content (e.g., a personal phone number buried in an otherwise legitimate review).
Minor formatting normalization is needed (e.g., converting ALL CAPS text to standard case).
A factual error that the Guest agrees to correct is limited to a specific phrase or sentence.

The Review Team will not edit a review to make it more favorable to the Operator, to change the Guest’s expressed opinion, or to remove legitimate criticism. Any edited review will be labeled “Edited by BookInstead” so future readers are aware of the modification.

7.6 Review Suppression During Investigation

When a review is under active investigation, BookInstead may temporarily suppress it — removing it from public view — if the Review Team determines that:

The review contains content that could cause immediate harm while the investigation is pending (e.g., it identifies a private individual by name).
Credible evidence has been submitted that the review is fake, incentivized, or retaliatory, and the evidence warrants temporary removal pending full review.

Suppressed reviews are not deleted. They are restored if the investigation concludes that the review does not violate this Policy, or deleted if it does.

8. Operator Responses to Reviews

8.1 Operator Response Rights

Operators may submit one (1) public written response to each Guest review published on their Listing. This response is displayed directly below the Guest’s original review, clearly labeled as the Operator’s response. Operator responses are an important tool for:

Acknowledging Guest feedback — both positive and negative — with professionalism.
Providing factual context where the Guest’s account may be incomplete or inaccurate.
Demonstrating to future Guests how the Operator handles criticism and resolves issues.
Building trust by showing genuine engagement with the Guest experience.

8.2 Response Standards

All Operator responses must comply with the following standards:

Responses must be professional, respectful, and constructive in tone, even when responding to reviews the Operator believes are unfair or inaccurate.
Responses must not contain personal attacks on the Guest, including references to the Guest’s character, intelligence, or motivations.
Responses must not disclose the Guest’s personal information, including their full name, email address, or booking details.
Responses must not contain threats, including implied threats of legal action, chargeback disputes, or negative counter-reviews.
Responses must not contain promotional language, advertising copy, or calls to action directing readers to book off-platform.
Responses may include factual corrections to specific inaccuracies in the Guest’s review, provided the correction is specific, evidence-based, and delivered calmly.
Responses may not exceed 1,000 words. Excessively long responses that overwhelm the Guest’s original review are subject to length reduction by the Review Team.

8.3 Response Timing

Operators may submit a response to any published review at any time. There is no expiration on the right to respond. However, BookInstead recommends responding within fourteen (14) calendar days of publication, as timely responses demonstrate active engagement and are weighted positively in the Listing Quality Score.

8.4 Response Editing and Removal

Operators may edit or retract their response at any time through the Operator Dashboard. BookInstead may remove or edit an Operator response that:

Violates any of the response standards in Section 8.2.
Contains prohibited content as defined in Section 6.
Reveals the Guest’s personal or confidential information.
Contains statements that are demonstrably false or defamatory.

An Operator’s repeated submission of non-compliant responses, after being warned, is grounds for temporary or permanent suspension of the Operator’s response privilege.

8.5 What Operators Should Never Do in Responses

The following Operator response behaviors are specifically prohibited and will result in escalating consequences from written warning to response privilege suspension:

Accusing the Guest of lying, fabricating their experience, or acting in bad faith, without specific, evidence-based support.
Threatening the Guest with legal action, law enforcement, or social media exposure.
Posting the Guest’s contact information, booking details, or any other personal data.
Suggesting that the Guest is a competitor or has been paid to leave a negative review, without evidence.
Implying that the Guest’s negative review was motivated by a desire to extort a refund, unless this is supported by documented communications submitted to the Review Team.

Guests who receive threatening or harassing Operator responses may report them to support@bookinstead.com. BookInstead takes Operator retaliation against reviewing Guests seriously and will act swiftly to remove non-compliant responses and sanction the Operator.

9. Fake Review Prevention and Integrity Enforcement

9.1 BookInstead’s Anti-Manipulation Systems

BookInstead employs a multi-layered approach to detecting and preventing review manipulation, combining automated systems with manual investigation:

Booking Verification Gate: Reviews can only be submitted by Guests with a confirmed, completed Booking in BookInstead’s system. The review submission link is gated behind booking confirmation and is specific to each Booking ID.
Device and IP Analysis: BookInstead’s systems detect reviews submitted from the same device or IP address as other reviews for the same Operator within a short time window.
Account Velocity Monitoring: New accounts that submit reviews shortly after creation are flagged for heightened scrutiny.
Linguistic Pattern Analysis: Reviews that are unusually similar in phrasing, structure, or word choice to other reviews for the same Operator are flagged for potential artificial generation.
Behavioral Anomaly Detection: Sudden spikes in review volume, rating reversals, or geographic clustering of reviews from an atypical location are flagged for investigation.
Cross-Platform Monitoring: Where BookInstead identifies that an Operator is engaging in review manipulation on other platforms, it may initiate a proactive investigation of the Operator’s BookInstead reviews.

9.2 Review Gating — Prohibited

Review gating — the practice of pre-screening Guests before soliciting a review to filter out potential negative reviewers — is strictly prohibited. Specifically, Operators may not:

Ask Guests whether they had a positive experience before providing them with a review link.
Send review invitations only to Guests who responded positively to a post-experience satisfaction survey.
Offer incentives for reviews conditioned on the Guest’s rating (e.g., “Leave us a 5-star review and receive a discount on your next booking”).
Use any process, tool, or communication strategy that systematically steers positive Guests toward reviewing while discouraging negative Guests from doing so.

Operators who wish to encourage reviews must do so uniformly — inviting all Guests who completed a Booking, regardless of perceived satisfaction level. BookInstead’s post-booking email sequence automatically invites eligible Guests to leave a review. Operators do not need to solicit reviews separately.

9.3 Incentivized Reviews — Prohibited

Offering any form of compensation, benefit, or reward in exchange for submitting a review — regardless of the rating — is strictly prohibited. This includes:

Cash payments, gift cards, or discounts on future bookings.
Free upgrades, add-ons, or merchandise provided in exchange for a review.
Contest entries, prize drawings, or loyalty points tied to review submission.
Threatening to withhold a tip, bonus experience, or service unless a review is submitted.
Any arrangement with a third-party reputation management service that involves the submission of compensated reviews.

9.4 Fake Reviews by Third Parties

Operators may not engage, hire, or direct any third party — including reputation management firms, marketing agencies, employees, friends, or family members — to submit fake reviews on BookInstead. This prohibition covers both positive fake reviews of the Operator’s own Listings and negative fake reviews targeting competitors.

If BookInstead determines that an Operator has engaged in fake review submission through any channel, the following consequences apply:

Violation Level	Consequence
First confirmed incident	All fake reviews removed. Written warning issued. 30-day review submission freeze on affected Listings.
Second confirmed incident	All fake reviews removed. Listing suppressed for 90 days. Overall Rating recalculated. Operator placed on Integrity Watch.
Third confirmed incident or systematic manipulation	Permanent account termination. All reviews removed. Payout holds applied. Referral to applicable consumer protection authorities.
Fake negative reviews targeting a competitor	Same consequences as above, plus referral to the affected Operator with full investigation findings.

9.5 Review Brigading

If BookInstead’s systems detect a coordinated campaign of negative reviews targeting a specific Operator from accounts that did not complete verified Bookings, BookInstead will:

Immediately suppress all suspected brigading reviews pending investigation.
Notify the affected Operator within twenty-four (24) hours.
Conduct an investigation using booking records, IP data, and account creation timelines.
Remove confirmed brigading reviews permanently.
If the brigading is traced to a competitor Operator, initiate account action against that Operator.
If the brigading cannot be conclusively attributed, present the investigation findings to the affected Operator.

10. Review Disputes

10.1 Guest Review Disputes

A Guest who believes their submitted review was incorrectly removed, suppressed, or edited may submit a written dispute to reviews@bookinstead.com within fourteen (14) calendar days of receiving the removal or editing notification. The dispute must include:

The Guest’s account email address and the Booking confirmation number associated with the review.
A description of the specific decision being disputed.
The Guest’s explanation of why they believe the decision was incorrect.
Any supporting evidence, including photos, communications, or other documentation.

The Review Team will acknowledge the dispute within one (1) business day and issue a final decision within seven (7) business days. Review dispute decisions are final and binding.

10.2 Operator Review Disputes

An Operator who believes a published review should be removed based on the grounds in Section 7.4 may flag the review using the Flag process in Section 7.2 and, if the flag is denied, submit a formal dispute to reviews@bookinstead.com within fourteen (14) calendar days. The dispute must include:

The Operator’s account email address and the affected Listing ID.
The specific review being disputed (identified by date and reviewer pseudonym or ID).
The specific ground for removal claimed (citing the relevant section of this Policy).
Specific, objective evidence supporting the claim — not just the Operator’s disagreement with the review’s content.

BookInstead will not remove a review based solely on the Operator’s assertion that it is unfair, inaccurate, or damaging to their business. Removal requires documented evidence meeting one of the standards in Section 7.4.

10.3 No Appeals After Final Decision

Review dispute decisions, once issued, are final and not subject to further appeal within BookInstead’s internal process. Parties who believe BookInstead’s decision violates applicable law may seek remedies through applicable consumer protection authorities or, for Operators, through the arbitration process described in the Operator Terms of Service.

11. Review Display, Ranking, and Visibility

11.1 Default Display Order

Reviews on a Listing page are displayed in the following default order, which Guests may change using the available sort options:

Most Recent: Newest reviews first, giving Guests the most current picture of the Experience.
Most Helpful: Reviews that have received the most “Helpful” votes from other Guests.
Highest Rated: Five-star reviews first, descending.
Lowest Rated: One-star reviews first, ascending.
Most Detailed: Reviews with the most words and subcategory ratings, ranked by content depth.

11.2 Review Visibility in Search

A Listing’s Overall Rating and total review count are displayed in search results, category pages, and any external marketing materials that BookInstead produces for the Listing. Higher-rated Listings receive better positioning in search results, consistent with the Quality Score framework described in the Listing Standards Policy.

11.3 Response Display

Operator responses are displayed directly below the relevant Guest review, clearly labeled with the Operator’s business name and the date of the response. Guests can expand or collapse the response. Where a Guest has edited their review and an Operator response exists, both the edited review and the original response remain visible, with the edit timestamp displayed on the review.

11.4 Reviews Are Permanent

Except in the circumstances described in Section 7, all published reviews are permanent. Operators cannot request removal of a review after they have responded to it. Guests cannot retract a submitted review simply because they have changed their mind, received compensation from the Operator after posting, or wish to renegotiate the content. Reviews may only be deleted by the Guest within 48 hours of submission and before the Operator has submitted a response.

12. Impact of Reviews on Operator Quality Score

As detailed in the Listing Standards Policy, Guest reviews are the single largest contributor to an Operator’s Quality Score, accounting for 30% of the overall score. Specifically:

Review Metric	Quality Score Weight	Optimization Guidance
Average Star Rating	20% of total score	Maintain an average above 4.0 for strong visibility. Below 3.5 triggers visibility penalties.
Review Volume (total count)	5% of total score	More reviews = higher confidence signal. Aim for at least 10 reviews per Listing.
Review Recency	3% of total score	Recent reviews carry more weight. Consistent new reviews signal ongoing quality.
Response Rate	2% of total score	Responding to at least 80% of reviews improves score. Respond within 14 days for full credit.

Operators whose Overall Rating falls below certain thresholds are subject to the following actions:

Average Rating	Minimum Reviews	Action
Below 4.0	10+ reviews	Written improvement notice. No promotional placement eligibility.
Below 3.5	10+ reviews	Reduced search visibility. Mandatory quality review call with BookInstead.
Below 3.0	10+ reviews	Significant visibility reduction. Operator must submit quality improvement plan within 30 days.
Below 2.5	10+ reviews	Listing suppression pending review. May be removed from Platform if no improvement in 90 days.

13. Review Data, Privacy, and Permissions

13.1 Review Ownership

By submitting a review to BookInstead, the Guest grants BookInstead a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, and sublicensable license to display, reproduce, distribute, and otherwise use the review content in connection with operating and promoting the Platform, including in marketing materials, press releases, aggregated reports, and partner integrations.

This license survives account deletion to the extent necessary to maintain the integrity of the review record associated with the Operator’s Listing. If a Guest deletes their account, their reviews are anonymized — the reviewer name is replaced with “BookInstead Guest” — but the review content and rating remain on the Platform.

13.2 Guest Privacy in Reviews

Reviews are published under the Guest’s display name, which is typically a first name and last initial as set in their account profile. Guests may set a pseudonymous display name in their account settings if they prefer not to display their real name. BookInstead does not publish the Guest’s full legal name, email address, or other personal information alongside their review without the Guest’s explicit consent.

13.3 Review Data Use

BookInstead uses review data — including ratings, text content, subcategory scores, and behavioral patterns — for the following purposes:

Calculating Operator Quality Scores and search rankings.
Identifying safety concerns, listing accuracy issues, and Operator compliance failures.
Training and improving BookInstead’s content moderation and fraud detection systems.
Generating aggregate marketplace insights, industry reports, and anonymized trend data.
Verifying the accuracy of Listing content against reported Guest experiences.

14. General Provisions

14.1 Policy Updates

BookInstead may update this Review Policy at any time. Material changes will be communicated via email to registered users at least fourteen (14) calendar days before taking effect.

14.2 Relationship to Other Policies

This Review Policy is part of BookInstead’s complete policy framework. Reviews that involve safety concerns are also governed by the Safety and Liability Disclaimer Policy. Reviews that involve payment disputes are governed by the Cancellation and Refund Policy. User conduct related to review submission is governed by the Terms of Service.

14.3 Governing Law

This Review Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any legal proceeding related to this Policy shall be brought in the courts of Harris County, Texas, or resolved through binding arbitration as provided in the Terms of Service.

14.4 Severability

If any provision of this Review Policy is found invalid or unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary or severed, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

15. Contact Information

For all review-related questions, disputes, flags, and manipulation reports:

Review Disputes and Flags: reviews@bookinstead.com

Fake Review Reports: integrity@bookinstead.com

Guest Support: support@bookinstead.com

Operator Support: operators@bookinstead.com

Legal Notices: legal@bookinstead.com

Website: www.bookinstead.com

Response Time: Review flags acknowledged within 1 business day. Review dispute decisions issued within 7 business days of receiving all evidence.